. The Canadian field-naturalist. 254 The Canadian Field-Naturalist Vol. 92 --20n °L FEEDING MOOSE OBSERVATION (N:370 HOURS OF OBSERVATION) MEAN NO. TRACKS/TRANSECT ( TRANSECT READINGS). u LU z .15 < < .10 ^ Urn o Z Z < JUNE JULY JULY AUGUST AUGUST SEPTEMBER 28-30 1-15 16-31 1-15 16-31 1-15 Figure I. Moose observations in western Quebec during the summers of 1972 and 1973. No Moose were seen after this period despite continuous observations until 15 September. There was no significant difference between observation occurrence in June and July but aquatic feeding during
. The Canadian field-naturalist. 254 The Canadian Field-Naturalist Vol. 92 --20n °L FEEDING MOOSE OBSERVATION (N:370 HOURS OF OBSERVATION) MEAN NO. TRACKS/TRANSECT ( TRANSECT READINGS). u LU z .15 < < .10 ^ Urn o Z Z < JUNE JULY JULY AUGUST AUGUST SEPTEMBER 28-30 1-15 16-31 1-15 16-31 1-15 Figure I. Moose observations in western Quebec during the summers of 1972 and 1973. No Moose were seen after this period despite continuous observations until 15 September. There was no significant difference between observation occurrence in June and July but aquatic feeding during this period is significantly different from that in the month of August {) in aquatic feeding between different daily periods although a peak was noted between 1200 and 1500 hours. Moose spent an average (±SE) of 54 ± 18 min (range 5 min to 2 h 45 min, n = 18) in the water. Once the Moose were in the pond, only the noise of a passing logging truck on the road 150 m nearby could scare them. They paid no atten- tion to human voices or dogs' barking. The period during which feeding Moose kept their heads submerged was short and varied according to sex. The average for males was 18 ± s (range 5-25 s, n = 20) whereas that of females is 8 ± s (range 4-11 s, n = 24). We registered a mean of 20 ± s of mastication for the bulls (range 10-26 s, n = 20) and a mean of only 10 ± s for the cow (range 4-12 s, n = 24). Rain affects aquatic feeding behavior. Moose were seen on all 20 rainless days but only four out of nine (44%) rainy days. Most terrestrial feeding was focused on only four species (Table 1). Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum) was rare whereas Pin Cherry {Prunus pensylvanica) was by far the most important species. As many as 70% of the White Birch stems were utilized in summer but Mountain Maple was the least used, with traces only. The highest percentage of eaten leaves (degree of browsing) is found on White Birch (26%) followed closely by willows (22%)
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